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November 12, 2012

Transylvania, Blogs and Twitter

Social networking sites are a must- I didn't know that until now.

I joined the land of Twitter only recently because, truthfully, I was not sure about this particular social networking site. I didn't want to have my valuable time taken up by Twitter when I could be writing, especially since Transylvania and its history is a small market, which is where much of my writing focuses on. I think that I did not understand the value of having one more avenue of promotion where I could have more followers, and draw more potential readers not only to a blog about Transylvania but to reach out to readers who would not normally search for information about Transylvania.

I was not sure that this was the best idea, but another writer convinced me that I was wrong. Judy Croome, who has a Twitter account, showed me that I can use Twitter to let people know that I have a book, and also to interact with writers in a different environment than on any other website I write on. Tweeting is certainly not like writing a blog. I published a book, and writing for Twitter is nothing like writing a book.

There are pros and cons to each type of networking you do. The time you need to spend on any one method is an important factor in choosing what to use, but once in a while you need to reevaluate what works best for you. I need to think about how I can promote my work on Twitter without sounding boring or, worse still, like a overly excited book marketer.

This brings me back to my question of should you use Twitter to promote your book? After some thought, I believe the answer is yes, but only if you have the time and the willingness to market your book to the right people -- people who are interested in the subject you write about; in my case, the history of the Second World War and Transylvania, Romania. In the beginning it is important to make yourself seen, and being interesting to the followers you have. The truth is that many new writers on Twitter make the same mistakes when it comes to their promotion and writing. Most of the best tweets are not about books (or one they have written) but are about what this person thinks or does they can be funny or simply of interest to others, and they are aimed at getting people to talk to you about the things you are passionate about.

For example, if you love to talk to others about travelling to Transylvania, you can also tweet about it to your followers. This is a way to get followers to know that you write and are selling a book, but that you also have interests beyond your writing. You can not only promote your book but you can promote yourself. The key is not to over promote anything, your followers have to have a reason to see you as a person. There are a lot of people who know and follow writers, but there are as many people who know and follow people who have knowledge about Transylvania, Romania.

Twitter, through its 140 character messages, is a network to think about, and after much thought I would like to invite you to follow me @RebeccaAEmrich. See you on Twitter!